Walter | Haverfield expands with new Columbus office

Cleveland-based law firm Walter | Haverfield, the 12th-largest law firm in this market with 81 local attorneys, (an increase from the 74 it reported earlier this year, per Crain'sresearch), has opened a Columbus office, marking its first expansion outside Northeast Ohio.

A spokesperson for the firm said the decision was made to open an office in the state's capital (at 175 S. Third St., suite 290) to better serve clients and because of the connections to people and resources there.

"This news marks a significant milestone for the firm as we have experienced year-after-year growth in the last decade, becoming one of the top ten Cleveland-based law firms," said the firm in an announcement on its website. "And we believe we can offer more sophisticated service by increasing the number of our attorneys and broadening our geographic footprint to the state capital.

The office has opened with two attorneys so far, Tim Jochim and Mike Passella. There are no hard plans to grow that to any specific size at this time.

The office is the third for the firm, which opened in 1932. It joins the Cleveland headquarters and a location in Avon.